St. Joseph County, Indiana - Chapter 5: Organization of St. Joseph County, 1907

Chapter 5: Organization of St. Joseph County

Sec. 1. - Indian Titles. - When Pierre Navarre located on the St. Joseph, in the year 1820, neither the state of Indiana nor the United States had acquired title to any lands in what is now St. Joseph county, nor indeed to any lands north of the Wabash, except small tracts near Fort Wayne and Lafayette. The title to this great northern wild, its thick woods, oak openings, prairies and marshes, was still in the Indians, as it was left by the treaty made between Anthony Wayne and Little Turtle and the other chiefs, at Greenville, Aug-ust 3, 1795. Not only was the legal title to the lands still in the Indians, but they continued to occupy the country as their great hunting reserve.

On August 29, 1821, as we have already seen,« the Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawatomies of Michigan ceded to the United States a large tract in southern Michigan. This cession included also the eastern part of the ten mile strip between our northern boundary, as tixed by the ordinance of 1787, and the state boundaiy, as fixed by the enabling act of 1816, on the admission of Indiana into the Union. The western limit of the Indiana strip so acquired by the Unitdl States reached to the middle line of range two east; and the southern limit reached to the south line of township thirty-seven north. Those lines take in the northeast quarter of St. Joseph county. The Potta- \vatomies were then the exclusive owners of a. Chap. 3 of this History; Subd. 5, Sec. 12.

the remainder of the county. By treaty of October 16, 1826, they ceded the western end of the ten mile strip, which included the northwest quarter of St. Joseph county. By treaty of September 28, 1828, an irregular tract lying south of the cession of August 29, 1821, was ceded. This cession reached to and included the southeast quarter of the county.- Finally, by treaty of October 26, 1832, the remainder of the extreme northwest of the state was ceded. This cession included the remaining or. southwest quarter of St. Joseph county. The only land title, therefore, which Navarre could acquire, in 1820, was an Indian title. The same was true as to Coquillard on his coming, in 1823, and for three years afterwards, except as to the northeast quarter of the county. Even when Taylor came, in 1827, the Indian title had been extinguished only as to the northern half of the county.

Sec. 2. - First Congressional and Legislative Acts. - The first act of congress directly affecting St. Joseph county was that approved March 2, 1827, entitled "An act to authorize the state of Indiana to locate and make a road therein named." This act was passed to carry out certain provisions of the treaty of October 16, 1826, b}^ which the Pottawatomies, amongst other things, ceded to the United States, " a strip of land, commencing at Lake Michigan and running to the Wabash river, one hundred feet wide, for a road, and also one section of good land contiguous to said road for each mile of the same and also for each mile of a road from the termination thereof, through Indianapolis, to some convenient point on the Ohio river. And the general assembly of the state of Indiana shall have a right to locate the said road, and apply the said sections, or the proceeds thereof, to the making of the same or any part thereof; and the said road shall be at their sole disposal." Following the treaty, and the act of congi^ess in relation thereto, and to provide for carrying the same into effect, the general assembly, by an act approved January 24, 1828, appointed commissioners "to survey and mark a road from Lake Michigan to Indianapolis, agreeably to the late treaty with the Pottawatomie Indians, and the act of congress in confirmation thereof."^'' Thus were the first steps taken for the construction of the Michigan road, one of the most important public improvements known in the history of Indiana. The work was of great moment to the whole state, from the Ohio to the lake, but particularly so to St. Joseph coimty and other northern counties, which would thus be more closely connected with the settled parts of the state and also enabled more conveniently to reach the lake trade at Michigan City, or Trail's Creek, as that place was at first called.^ It was a renewal, by another route, of the old course of commerce from the lakes to the gulf.

The act of January 24, 1828, in relation to the IMichigan road, was the first official notice taken by the legislature of the territory of our county. But the proposition to construct a great highway through this region was indeed the giving of most important consideration to the welfare of the valleys of the St. Joseph and the Kankakee.

Sec. 3. - First Surveys. - Among the earliest surveys made in the county were those of the Michigan road and of the Michigan road lands. The original survey of the road was begun in the fall of 1828; but that survey was abandoned as impracticable, being an attempt to lay out a road on a direct line from Lake Michigan to the Wabash, over almost impassable swamps and marshes, chiefly those of the Kankakee country. The route proposed in this survey, from the site of the present city of Michigan City to that of Logansport, was seventy-four miles in length. A second survey, made the same fall, turned to the southeast from Trail's Creek until it reached the south bend of the St. Joseph river. "At this point," say the surveyors in their report, "is a beautiful site for a town." So, in 1828, did the surveyors of the Michigan road make prophecy of the future of the Queen City of the St. Joseph valley." From this south bend of the St. Joseph, the survey eontinued nearly in a direct line to the south. The distance by this route between Michigan City and Logansport, as the extreme points are now called, was found to be one hundred and two miles. The maps and plats of this survey were filed in the office of the secretary of state, December 9, 1828. In the spring of 1829, there was a resurvey of that part of the road from South Bend to Logansport, over practically the same route as that surveyed in the fall of 1828 : and the maps, plats and field notes were filed in the office of the secretary of state on June 12, 1829. This survey, as made from Michigan City to South Bend in the fall of 1828, and from South Bend to Logansport in the spring of 1829, was accepted; and the field notes are called the "Field notes of the second survey"; the first being that over the impracticable route from Trail's Creek, or Michigan City, through the swamps, directly to Logansport. Had the first survey been accepted, and the road built on that route. South Bend and St. Joseph county would have been left far to one side; and our history might have been different. Fortunately for us, however, it was according

1829 by William Brookfield, our first county surveyor. Brookfield 's surveys were made in townships thirty-seven and thirty-eight, north, ranges one, two and three, east, and included parts of the present townships of Portage, Penn, Clay, German and Warren. Other surveyors during the year 1829 were David Hillis and Thomas Brown. The principal surveyor in connection with the Michigan road and Michigan road lands was William Polke, for a long time commissioner in charge of the construction of the Michigan road, whose surveys extend from the year

1830 to the year 1834, inclusive. Other surveyors were E. H. Lytle, in 1830 and 1834; and Robert Clark, Jr., in 1833. The people were exceedingly urgent for the completion of the Michigan road and for the survey of all the lands of the county; and both these important works were pushed ahead with energy. On the extinguishment of the Indian title to the lancls of what is now the southwest quarter of the county by the treaty of October 26, 1832, the surveys were rapidly extended over all our territory; so that by the year 1834 practically all the lands of the county were surveyed. At the beginning of the year 1832 the Michigan road was completed from the Ohio, at Madison, to the Wabash, at Logansport; and by the end of that year the road was opened to the lake, at Michigan City. The tide of emigration, induced by the facilities thus afforded, poured into all the country between the Wabash and the lake; and the population of this vicinity increased very rapidly.

Sec. 4. - First Land Sales. - While the public surveys were begun in 1829, yet it appears from the plat books now on file in the office of the eounty auditor that the first sales of public lands were not made una. See further as to the Michigan Road, Chap. 7, Sub. 2, Sec. 3.

til late in the year 1830; and the first sales of the Michigan road lands were made still a year later. Yet, although the actual sales were not completed until the dates named, the entries were made much earlier. After the entries were made, and even after the sales were completed, it was some time yet longer before the patents could issue. On October 4, 1830, the south half of the northwest quarter of section twelve, township thirty-seven, north, range two east, was sold to Lathrop M. Taylor; and on the 25th of the same month the north half of the same tract was sold to Alexis Coquillard. In the spring following, on March 28, 1831, these two men laid out the eounty seat on the two tracts so purchased, together with a smaller tract in the southwest quarter of section one of the same township and range. Yet on j\Iay 12, 1831, in the bond of Coquillard and Taylor agreeing to donate certain lots in the new town for public purposes, they say, "which said several donations are to be legally conveyed in a reasonable time after the patents shall have been issued to the said Coquillard and Taylor." It is very plain that the population was pressing into this rich country much faster than the state and national authorities could prepare for them.

So far had the population of this region increased at the beginning of the j^ear 1830, that the legislature, then in session, deemed it wise to provide for the organization of the two sister counties of the St. Joseph valley. This important act of legislation, which was approved by the governor and became a law January 29. 1830, reads as follows :^ all that tract of country, which is included in the county treasury, in the same manner within the following boundary, shall form as other monies are paid, and constitute a new county, to be known ''See. 4. The circuit court of the county and designated by the name of the county of St. Joseph shall be holden at the house of St. Joseph, to-wit: Beginning at [the of Alexis Coquillard, in said county of St. west line of] range No. 2 west from the Joseph: Provided, however, that the cirsecond principal meridian, of the state of cuit court, shall have authority to remove Indiana, on the northern line of the state, the court from the house of Alexis Coquilthence running east, to where [the east line lard, to any other place in said county, preof] range No. 3 east, intersects the state vious to the public buildings being comline ; thence south with the range line, pleted, should the said court deem it exthirty miles ; thence west to range two pedient ; after the completion of which, the west : thence north to the place of beginning, court of the said county of St. Joseph, shall of April next, enjoy aU the rights, priv- "Sec. 5. The agent who shall be apileges and jurisdiction, which to separate pointed to superintend the sales of lots, the seats of justice in all counties hereafter "See. 6. It shall be the duty of the qualito be laid off.'* The commissioners above fied voters of the county of St. Joseph, at the just and reasonable; who are hereby author- f ^*- Joseph for civil and criminal jurisized to allow the same, out of any monies f"'"f ^ ^""^ ^^e citizens residing .vithin the

"Sec. 8. That from and after the first day of April next, all that tract of country, which is included and within the following boundary, shall form and constitute a new county, to be known and designated by the name of the county of Elkhart, to-wit : Beginning at [the east line of] range three east [on the northern line of the state], thence running with the state line twentyfour miles east; thence south twenty miles; thence west twenty-four miles ; thence north twenty-four [twenty] miles, to the place of beginning.

"Sec. 9. That the said new county of Elkhart, shall, from and after the first day of April next, enjoy all the rights, privileges and jurisdiction, which to separate and independent counties, do, and may properly belong and appertain.

"Sec. 10. That William G. Ewing and Hugh Hanna of the county of Allen, Samuel Fleming and John Bishop of the coimty of Wayne, and Joseph Bennett of the countj^ of Delaware, are hereby appointed commissioners agreeable to the act, entitled 'an act for the fixing the seats of justice in all counties hereafter to be laid off.' The commissioners above named, shall convene at the house of ChcKster Sage, in the said county of Elkhart, on the fourth Monday in May next, and shall immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law. It is hereby made the duty of the sheriff of Allen county, to notify the said commissioners, either in person, or by written notification, of their appointment, on or before the first day of May next; and the said sheriff of Allen county, shall receive from the said county of Elkhart, so much as the board doing county business shall deem just and reasonable ; who are hereby authorized to allow the same out of any monies in the county treasury, in the manner as other monies are paid.

, "See. 11. The circuit court of the county of Elkhart, shall be holden at the house of Chester Sage, in said county of Elkhart : Provided, however, that the circuit court shall have authority to remove the court from the house of Chester Sage, to any other place in said county, previous to the public buildings being completed, should the said court deem it expedient; after the completion of which, the court of the said county of Elkhart, shall be holden at the court house at the county seat of said county of Elkhart.

"Sec. 12. The agent who shall be appointed to superintend the sales of lots at the county seat of the county of Elkhart, shall reserve ten per cent, out of the proceeds thereof, and pay the same over to such person, or persons, as may be appointed by law to receive the same, for the use of a county library for said county of Elkhart; which he shall pay over at such time or times, and place, as may be directed by law.

"Sec. 13. It shall be the duty of the qualified voters of the countj^ of Elkhart, at the time of electing a clerk, recorder and associate judges, to elect three justices of the peace, who, when elected and qualified, shall have all power, and perform all the duties, prescribed by law, as relates to boards of justices, in the several counties; and said board shall have power to hold special sessions, and to do and perform any duties required at any previous regular session.

"Sec. 14. That all territory lying east of said county to the state line, be, and the same is hereby attached to the said county of Elkhart, for civil and criminal jurisdiction ; and the citizens residing within the bounds so included, shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities, and be subject to all the taxes, impositions and assessments, of the citizens of the county of Elkhart.

"Sec. 15. The county of St. Joseph shall be attached to the first, and the county of Elkhart to the sixth judicial district of the state, for judicial purposes.

on the northern boundary of the state. All the territory to the west, including that of the present counties of La Porte, Porter and Lake, was attached to St. Joseph county ; and all to the east, including the territory of the present counties of La Grange and Steuben, was attached to Elkhart county. In addition, by section eight of an act for the formation of Grant county, approved February 10, 1831, all the unorganized territory then remaining west of the range line- dividing ranges three and four east, was attached to St. Joseph county; and that to the east of said line, to Elkhart county." This was done in accordance with the practice of the legislature to attach unorganized territory to counties already organized.

The original county of the state was Knox, with its county seat at Vincennes, organized January 14, 1790. Northern Indiana remained within the jurisdiction of Knox county until January 10, 1818, "when this part of the state, extending to Lake Michigan, was embraced in Randolph county, of which Winchester was the county seat, up to the formation of Allen county, December 17, 1823. "'^

From the formation of Allen county, in 1823, until that of St. Joseph and Elkhart counties, in 1830, all northern Indiana was attached to Allen county; even as by act of January 29, 1830, the territory now forming La Porte, Porter and Lake counties was attached to St. Joseph county. The territory attached in such cases was not in fact a part of the county to which it was joined ; yet, for all practical purposes, it was so treated. And we shall see that St. Joseph county, both under our board of justices and under our board of commissioners, formed the attached territory west to the Illinois line into a distinct township, and otherwise treated it as an integral part of the county.^

Sec. 1. - The Virginia System. - In our local government we are still Virginians. The first civilized authority exercised in this region was that of France; afterwards the power of Great Britain prevailed; the dominion of Spain flashed up for a moment and was gone. During the Revolution, chiefly for the purpose of protecting her Kentuckj^ frontiers, Virginia sent an expedition across the Ohio river under George Rogers Clark, and wrested the country from England. The old commonwealth then formed the territory northwest of the Ohio into one of her counties, named it the county of Illinois, and, so far as suitable to the new conditions, transferred her own form of local county government to this vast wilderness empire. The Virginians were the Romans of our early American history. They had a capacity for, government on a large scale. The state was the center of the system, and the county was the unit of subordinate local government. The townships were merely convenient subdivisions created for the purpose of more easily administering the affaire of the county. Such a scheme is well adapted for the government of large territories, particularly when the same are sparsely populated. The authority passes from the state to the counties, and all the affairs of the citizen are administered through the county courts, county boards and other county officers, acting also, when convenient to do so, through subordinate township officers. That is our system of local government, and we received it originally from the Old Dominion. After Virginia had ceded her great count}- of Illinois to the United States, the government established under the ordinance of 1787. was somewhat modified from the former, or Virginia, system, by a selection of many Avise provisions from the laws of other states ; but the prevailing character of the machinery of government under the great ordinance remained Virginian. Sec. 2. - The New England System. - The

New Eugland system, as it is often called, proceeds, not from the state to the county and then to the individual, but from the individual to the town, or other local community, and then to the state. In the Virginia form of local government the county is the unit, and the town, or township, is quite subordinate. In the New England system the town is the unit, and the county is but an aggregation of towns. St. Joseph county adjoins Berrien county, Michigan, but our political ancestry goes back to Virginia, wiiile that of Berrien county goes back to New York and New England. The original settlers of Michigan came directly from the east and northeast ; those of Indiana from the south and southeast. At our northern boundary the two systems meet. The authority of Berrien county is exercised through the board of supervisors of the several townships ; that of St. Joseph county, through a county board elected by the people of the whole county. On the other side of the state line the township is supreme, and the county is but an aggregation of townships ; on this side of the line the county is supreme, and the townships are but its subordinate divisions. We are very close to Michigan ; indeed, the north ten miles of St. Joseph county, as we have seen, was once a part of Michigan. But the forms of government are quite dissimilar. Which form is the better may admit of question. No doubt the Michigan system gives larger consideration to the individual and to the smaller local communities ; it is nearer to the people. There the township is more than with us; the road district is more; the school district is more ; the power of the individual citizen is greater. But with us the county government is more effective. The coimty board, consisting of three members, selected from different sections of the county, but elected by the voters of the whole county, is much more efficient than a meeting of the board of supervisors of the several townships. We can carry on public works to much better houses, roads and bridges more effectively. The work of the state, of the people at large, can be better carried on in Indiana. But it must be admitted that the rights and powers of the individual citizen seem better guarded in our sister state. Each system is good in its way; and the statesmanship that should blend the excellencies of both would merit the very highest honor.

Iv. The Board Of Justices

See. 1. - Organization of Civil Government. - In accordance with the provisions of section six of the act for the organization of the county, our first county election was held on the first Monday in August, 1830. At this election Lathrop M. Taylor was elected clerk and recorder, and Lambert McCombs, Adam Smith and Levi F. Arnold were elected justices of the peace. The board of justices held its first meeting at the house of Alexis Coquillard, on August 27, 1830. The first entry on the record of the board reads as follows :

"In pursuance of an act of the general assembly of the state of Indiana, entitled an act to provide for the carrying the laws into effect in new counties, approved January 2, 1818; and also the act, entitled an act for the formation of the counties of St. Joseph and Elkhart, passed and approved January 29, 1830, the Justices of the Peace met at the house of Alexis Coquillard, in St. Joseph county, on Friday, the 27th day of August, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty.

"Adam Smith now comes forth and produces his commission from His Excellency, James B. Ray, Grovernor of the State of Indiana, commissioning him, the said Adam Smith, Justice of the Peace in and for said county of St. Joseph for and during the term of five years from the 11th day of August, 1830; and on the back of said commission is the following endorsement, to wit : " 'St. Joseph county, ) " 'State of Indiana, )

States and of the »State of Indiana, and that for the term of one year from the date herehe will to the best of his abilities and judg- ' of."

single combat, either in or out of this state, Benjamin Potter, James Nixon, Thomas Clyduring his continuance in office. Given rm- burn, Phillip Fail, Louis Sancomb and of $1,000." The taxes to be collected in the A third session of the board of justices was year of grace 1830 were evidently very light, held at the house of Alexis Coquillard, on Mr. William C. Stover, the treasurer of St. Tuesday, September 14. 1830. At this meet- Joseph county for this year of our Lord 1907 ing Thomas J. Evans, John Berry, Gillis Mchas been required to give a bond in the sum of Bane and Daniel Worth, commissioners $950,000. named in the act of January 29, 1830, were board other biLsiness transacted consisted of services in locating the county seat. Wilthe appointment of James Nixon as assessor; Ham Brookfield was appointed county agent of justices was held at the house of Alexis Coquillard, on November 25, 1830. At this meeting certain lots donated by William Brookfield at the county seat for the use of the county, as contemplated in section five of the act of organization, were accepted and he was directed, as county agent, to make sale of them, on terms fixed by the board.

Sec. 2. - The First Tov^^nships. - The last act of this fourth session of the board of justices was the division of the county into four townships, by the following order:

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that all the district of country lying west of the range line dividing ranges two and three west of the second principal meridian of the state of Indiana shall form and constitute a township in the aforesaid county to be known by the name of Michigan township, and the sheriff of said county is ordered to notify the citizens of the aforesaid township by written notification to meet at the house of Lewis Shirley in said township on the 18th of December next to elect one justice of the peace in and for said township.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that ranges one and two west of the second principal meridian of the state of Indiana shall form and constitute one township to be known by the name of Deschemin township, and the sheriff is ordered to give the citizens of the said township written notification- according to law to hold an election at the house of John Drullinger in said township to elect one justice of the peace in and for said township on the 18th day of December next.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that from the second principal meridian of the state until the center of range two east shall form and constitute a township in said county to be known by the name of German township, and the sheriff is hereby ordered to give public notice to the citizens of said township according to law for the qualified voters to meet at the house of David Miller in said township to elect one justice of the peace in and for

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That all the district of country lying and being from the center of range two east of the second principal meridian of the state and thence running east to the eastern boundary of St. Joseph county shall form and constitute one township to be known and designated by the name of Portage township."

Michigan township, strictly speaking, was not a part of St. Joseph county-. As described in section seven of the act of January 29, 1830, organizing the county, this township embraced "all the territoiy lying west of said county, to the state line. ' ' It was further said in the same section, that this territory wa.s "attached to the said county of St. Joseph, for civil and criminal jurisdiction ; and the citizens residing within the bounds so included, shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities, and be subject to all the taxes, impositions and assessments, of the citizens of the county of St. Joseph." The township lay almost wholly on the southern shore of Lake Michigan, from which it received its name. It included the western part of the present county of La Porte and the northern parts of the present counties of Starke, Porter and Lake.

Deschemin township consisted of territory now embraced within eastern La Porte, northern Starke, and western St. Joseph. The towns of new Carlisle and Walkerton, in St. Joseph county; and Hudson, Rolling Prairie and Stillwell, in La Porte county, are within what was Deschemin township. The name of the township is evidently a corruption of the French words Du Chemin, the designation formerly given to Hudson Lake. Lac Du Chemin, now Hudson Lake, one of the most beautiful of the small lakes of northern Indiana, Wcis in the heart of Deschemin township. The name, Lac Du Chemin, that is. the "Lake of the Road," had reference to the Great Sauk trail, since known as the Chicago road, which passed close to the south edge of the lake.

The Sauk trail runs west by south, through the north part of the present Warren and Olive townships. It passes through the old towns of Terre Coupee, formerly called also Prairie Coupee ; Hudson, fonnerly called Lakeport, on Lac Du Chemin, or Hudson lake; La Porte and Door village, and thence on to Chicago.*

German township, as laid out by the board of justices, embraced the eastern half of the present towTiship of Olive, all of Warren, and parts of German, Portage, Greene, Liberty and Union, in St. Joseph county; besides the northwest part of Marshall county. North Liberty, in St. Joseph county; and Teegarden, Tyner City, La Paz and Plymouth, in Marshall county, are within the limits of our old German township. The original plat of Plymouth, now the county seat of Marshall county, is on record in plat book number one of St. Joseph county, at page thirteen. It was acknowledged by the proprietors, John Sering, James Blair and William Polke, October 11, 13 and 20, respectively, A. D., 1834, before Lathrop M. Taylor, Recorder of St. Joseph county.

Portage township, as laid out by the board of justices, extended east from the former German township to within three miles of the present eastern boundary of the county. The three mile strip now on the east side of St. Joseph county was then a part of Elkhart county. Lakeville, Woodland, Wyatt, Mishawaka, Notre Dame and South Bend are within the limits of our old Portage township. Bremen, Marshall county, is within the same limits. Osceola was in what is now Elkhart county.

It is to be noted that the names of German and Portage townships, with parts of their respective territories, have been retained by this county. No part of Michigan township however, was at any time within the present limits of the county ; and only a small part of Deschemin township. These last names have gone from us with the territoiy to which they were attached. Michigan township, in La Porte county, is a part of the original ]\Iichigan township of St. Joseph county; and has retained the name from the time when it was first given by our board of justices. The city of Michigan City is within the same township.

V. The Board Of Commissioners

Sec. 1. - Act op Organization. - There is no record of any action taken by our first and only board of justices after their fourth meeting, held November 25, 1830. By an act approved January 19, 1831," the general assembly changed the law regulating the transaction of county business, substituting a board of commissioner for the board of justices and introducing many other important provisions. The act is undoubtedly one of the wisest ever passed by our legislature, and constitutes a most comprehensive and simple code of government for the counties of the state. The law then passed has been modified in several particulars since its first enactment; but the main principles, and even much of the language, remains unchanged. The act also illustrates the early history of county government in our state ; and while many of its provisions have since been revised or amended, yet it merits a place in this work as a historical document of the highest interest. It is therefore here given in full :

"Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, That there shall be and hereby is organized in each county in this state, a board of commissioners for transacting county business, to consist of three qualified electors, any two of whom shall be competent to do business, to be elected by the qualified electors of the several counties respectively, on the first Monday in August next, as general elections are conducted. Provided, however. In voting for commissioners, the ticket shall always show which is voted for, for first, second or third district, and should there be two or more candidates in any one district, the person having the highest number of votes, shall be elected for such district.

"Sec. 2. At the first election in pursuance of this act, the person having the highest number of votes shall serve three years; the person having the next highest number of votes shall serve two years, and the person having the next highest number of votes shall serve one year; and thereafter annually, one commissioner shall be elected who shall serve three years, and each commissioner elected according to the provisions of this act, shall continue in office until his successor is elected and qualified; but if two or more persons shall have an equal number of votes as above, their grade shall be determined by lot by the clerk, in the presence and under the direction of the returning officers.

"Sec. 3. Each person elected as a commissioner, shall, on receiving a certificate of his election, take the oath or affirmation required by the constitution of this state, before some person legally authorized to administer the same; which oath or affirmation, being certified on the back of such certificate, under the hand and seal of the person administering the same, shall be sufficient authority for such commissioner to take his seat with, and act as a member of the board, during the time for which he was elected.

"Sec. 4. The commissioners thus elected and qualified, shall be considered a body corporate and politic, by and under the name and style of the board of commissioners of by and under such name and style, may sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, answer and be answered unto, in any court either of law or equity, and do and transact all business on behalf of their respective counties, that may be assigned them from time to time by law; and in all cases w^here their respective counties may have been injured, or may hereafter be injured, in their goods, chattels, lands, tenement^, rights, credits, effects or contracts; sucii commissioners shall and may, by and under their corporate name and style, without setting out their individual names, bring any suit or suits, action or actions, either in law or equity, which may be best calculated to obtain redress for any such injury, in the same way or manner that private individuals might or could do, and may in like way and manner, by and under their corporate name and style, be sued, by any person or persons having any manner of claims against such county.

"Sec. 5. The board of commissioners shall meet at the court house, in each and every county, for the purpose aforesaid, or at the usual place of holding the circuit court in such county, on the first J\Iondays in January, March, May, September, and November, in each and every j^ear, and may sit three days at each term, if the business of the county shall require it : Provided, however, if the circuit court shall meet on any of the before mentioned days, the commissioners shall meet on the Monday preceding.

"Sec. 6. The clerk of the circuit court shall, by virtue of his office, attend the meeting of the board of conunissioners, and keep a record of their proceedings, and do such other business as he shall be required by law to do ; and the sheriff of the county shall also, by himself or deputy, attend said board and execute their orders."

a. The duties of the sheriff as fixed by this section remain substantially unchanged; he continues to be the executive officer of the board, and executes its orders as he does those of the Circuit Court.

The duties here assigned to the clerk of the Circuit Court have, however, since the year 1841. been performed by the County Auditor. By an act approved February 12, 1841, the office of County Auditor was created. By section eight of that act it was provided that the auditor, by virtue of his office, should be "clerk to the board of County Commissioners." By section fifty-three the clerk was required to turn over to the auditor all books, papers, etc., relative to county business; and by section fifty-four all the duties of clerks in relation to county affairs were required to be performed by the auditor. The auditor is, in effect, the County Clerk: while the clerk of the Circuit Court performs the duties of a court officer only. See Acts 1841. pp. 10-24, R. S. 1843, p. 189.

"Where money has been advanced by any clerk, or other county officer, for the use and benefit of his county, pursuant to the requisitions of law, the board doing county business shall order such money, so advanced, to be first paid : and where there is any judgment or .judgments against any county in this state, the board may in their discretion order when and in what manner such judgment or judgments, shall be discharged, not inconsistent with the constitution of this state or of the United States, any law to the contrary^ notwithstanding. And when any county shall owe the commissioners for locating any seat of justice therein, such claims shall be preferred to any other against said county ; and the collector shall receive the said orders for commissioners' wages, and shall pay the same out of the first monies that shall come to his hands, after such orders shall be presented to him, and the said orders accepted shall be a sufficient voucher in the hands of such collector for any claims the county may have against him, to their full amount.

"Sec. 8. When two only of the members shall be present at the meeting of the board, and a di\asion shall take place on any question, it shall be continued until the next meeting, before it shall be finally determined. When any vacancy shall happen in the office of commissioner, the circuit court of the county, or the two associate justices in vacation, shall appoint a suitable person or persons to fill such vacancy until the next annual election of commissioners, when such vacancy shall be filled by an election by the electors of the county.

"Sec. 9. It shall be the duty of the board of commissioners at their ^lay session, in each year, to receive and inspect the listers' books, and levy a county tax according to law, and cause their clerk to make out a duplicate for collection accordingly.

"See. 10. The commissioners of each county respectively, shall have and use a common seal, for the purpose of sealing their proceedings ; and copies of the same, when signed and sealed by the said connnissi oners, and attested by their clerk, shall be good evidence of such proceedings, on the trial of any cause, in any of the courts of this state. The commissioners aforesaid, at their session in November, or when the circuit term prevents their meeting in November, then "at their first meeting thereafter, in every year, shall make a fair and accurate statement of the receipts and expenditures of the preceding year, and have the same set up at the court house door, and at two other public places in their county respectively, and published in some newspaper in their county, if there be any ; and if the said commissioners, or either of them, after accepting their appointment, shall neglect or refuse to do his or their duty, in office, he or they so offending, shall, on conviction by indictment before tue circuit court of the proper county, be fined in any sum not exceeding one hundred dollars.

"Sec. 11. And it is hereby made the duty of the present boards doing the business of the several counties, to meet on the first Monday of May, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, and lay their respective counties off into three equal commissioner's districts, numbered in nimierical order, one, two, and three ; and one commissioner shall be elected in each of said districts, by a vote of the whole county; and said districts when so laid off, may be altered once in every three years thereafter, if justice require it, and not oftener : Provided, however, that nothing in this act shall be so construed as to affect the term of office of any commissioner heretofore elected. But when a vacancy shall occur in any board of commissioners, now in existence, the same shall be supplied by a person to be elected from one of such districts, in numerical order.

"Sec. 12. That all the duties heretofore required of the boards doing county business, in the several counties in this state, and not included or otherwise directed in this act, be and the same is hereby made the duty of said commissioners, to do and perform, in the same manner as though it were named in this act.

"Sec. 13. The commissioners so elected and qualified, shall each receive two dollars per day, for each and every day that they may necessarily be employed in transacting the county business ; and said board of commissioners, when organized, shall possess the powers and authority heretofore given to the county board of justices.

' ' Sec. 14. All suits, pleas, plaints, prosecutions,^ and proceedings, which may be pending in any court, to be tried for or against any board of justices, previous to the takingeffect of this act, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution, in the same name and manner, as the same might have been done, had this law not been passed; and all contracts either written or verbal, made by such board of justices, previous to the taking effect of this act, shall remain valid in law and equity, and suit may be thereupon brought, in the same way and manner as the same might have been, had this act not have been passed, with this difference, that the corporate name of the board of commissioners shall be used, instead of the name of the board of justices.

' ' Sec. 15. It shall be the duty of the clerks of the several boards doing county business, to keep fair books, wherein shall be kept the accounts of the county, to attest all orders issued by the board for the payment of money, and enter the same in numerical order, in a book to be kept for that purpose; and shall copy into their said books the reports of the treasurer of the receipts and disbursements of their respective counties, and whenever the duplicate shall be put into the hands of the collector, it shall be the duty of said clerks to send a statement of the sum wherewith such collector stands charged, to the county treasurer.

' ' Sec. 16. When any person has an attested county order in his name, of a larger amount than his county tax, and is desirous to appropriate a part of such order to the payment of such tax, he is hereby authorized to apply to the clerk of the board doing county business, whose duty it shall be to give to the holder of such order, and in exchange therefor, two or more attested county orders, making together the same amount with the original order, which shall thereupon be cancelled; and such clerk shall insert in every such order, that the same with others, were so such original order, together with the number and amount of such original order; one of which orders shall be for the amount of his tax, and shall appear on its face to be intended for the payment thereof.

"Sec. 17. Whenever any person shall exhibit any claim against any county, for services rendered, for which the fund arising from the sale of lots, or otherwise, at the county seat, is specially appropriated, and those funds have been fully expended, it shall be the duty of the board doing county business, to give such claimant an order on the county treasury, for such sum as may be due to such claimant, to be paid out of any monies not otherwise appropriated.

"Sec. 18. Every collector of county t-axes is hereby required to receive any regularly attested county order, made by the board doing county business, when the same may be tendered to him by any person in payment of such person's taxes, due such county.

"Sec. 19. No collector, or other person doing county business, shall, either directly or indirectly, purchase or receive in pajTiient, exchange, or in any way whatever, any demand against his county, or any county order for a claim allowed by the board doing county business, at any time during the period foiwhich he may be elected, for a less amount than that expressed on the face of such order or demand against the county; and every person elected, or ajipointed to do county business, shall, before entering on the duties of his office, take an oath not to violate the provisions of this section; and any collector or other person doing county business, offending against the provisions of this section, on conviction thereof upon indictment or present-

"Sec. 20. That the qualified voters residing within the several townships of the several counties of this state, shall meet together at the usual places of holding general township elections, on the first Monday in April next; and annually on the first Monday in April thereafter, for the purpose of electing as many constables in each township as there are justices of the peace within the same, and shall at the same time elect one inspector of elections for each township, two fence viewers, two overseers of the poor, and as many supervisore of highways as there are now or may hereafter be allotted to the respective townships by the proper board of commissioners; and in all cases of failure on the part of the qualified voters, to elect any such township officers, it shall be the duty of the board of commissioners, at the next session after the time such election should have been held, to appoint such officers, to remain in office until the time for the next election. Nothing in this act shall be so construed as to affect or repeal the laws now in force, regulating the manner of doing business, in the counties of Dearborn and Switzerland, except as to the election of township supervisor.

"See. 21. The above named township officers shall possess the same qualifications, and perform the same duties, as are required of such officers by the laws now in force ; the said township elections to be held and conducted in the same manner that general and township elections are now held and conducted, and the constables shall give such bond and security, for the performance of their duty, as is now required by law.

' ' Sec. 22. That the board of commissioners shall, so soon as may be after the first election held under the provisions of this act, divide the several townships within their respective counties, into as many highway districts as they may deem necessary; which districts shall be designated and numbered in numerical order, and recorded by the clerk of the board of commissioners. Where any vacancy shall happen in any of the township officers, the said board of commissioners shall, at their next session, appoint a suitable person or persons to fill such vacancy until the next annual election for township officers, when such vacancy shall be filled by an election of the electors of the township.

"See. 23. It shall be the duty of the said inspectors of elections in each township, within three days after such election, to make out and deliver to the clerk of the circuit court, a list of the several township officers, whose duty it shall be to make out certificates of the election of the person or persons elected, and the sheriff of said county shall deliver the same to the township officers so elected.

"Sec. 21. The circuit courts in counties where court houses shall not have been erected, shall be holden for the time being, at the place designated by law or selected by the court ; and the boards of commissioners in such counties, shall with all convenient speed, proceed to the completion of a court house, jail and other public buildings for the same, and keep the same in repair.

"Sec. 25. The board of commissioners, in their respective counties, at their first meeting after the passage of this act, or some subsequent meeting's, shall appoint some fit person, as trustee of the public seminary of their respective counties, who, on acceptance of such appointment, shall take an oath of office, faithfully to discharge the duties of his said office according to law, and also give bond, payable to the state of Indiana, with two sufficient securities, in the penal sum of double the amount as near as may be, of the funds of the county seminary, conditioned for the faithful performance of the duties of his office, and for paying over all monies, and delivering over all books, bonds, and papers, that may be in his hands as trustee, to his successor in office, when his term of service shall have expired agreeably to law; which bond shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the proper county, and shall not be void on one recovery, but may be put in suit from time to time, as often as occasion may require : Provided, however. That this act shall in no way be construed, so as to interfere with or repeal any existing laws, respecting the county seminary of Switzerland county, or any other county, for which special laws relative to county seminaries have heretofore been enacted.

"Sec. 26. The board of commissioners, shall annually allow the clerk and sheriff of their county, such compensation for their extra services, rendered the board of commissioners, the circuit court of such county, and the county, in any manner whatever.

"Sec. 27. The board of county commissioners in each and every county, shall cause a pound to be erected at or near the several court houses, with a good and sufficient fence, gate, lock and key, where estray horses, mules and asses may be kept, on the first day of the terms of the circuit courts ; and the said board shall also appoint some fit person, who shall take charge of said pound, and keep the same in repair, and whose duty it shall also be to attend at the said pound, on the several court days, during the time such estrays are directed to continue there, with the keep of the same ; and the said board shall make such reasonable allowance for the erecting and keeping such pound as to them shall seem proper, to be paid out of the county treasury ; and any person being appointed and undertaking the charge of said pound, and failing to discharge his duties agreeably to the directions herein expressed, shall forfeit and pay to the person injured, the sum of eight dollare for every such offense, with costs, recoverable before any .justice of the peace of the county where such offense shall have been committed.

' ' Sec. 28. From all decisions of the several boards of commissioners, there shall be allowed an appeal to the circuit court, by any person or persons aggrieved ; and the person or persons appealing, shall take the same within thirty days after such decision, by giving bond with security, to the acceptance of the clerk of such board, conditioned for the faithful prosecution of such appeal and the payment of costs already accrued, and which may thereafter accrue, if the same shall be adjudged by the said court, to be paid by such appellant; and the clerk shall docket such appeal, with the cases pending in the circuit court, within twenty days after the taking of such appeal."

Sec. 2. - Our First Commissioners. - The first commissioners of St. Joseph county, elected on the first Monday in August, 1831, in pursuance of the provisions of section one of the foregoing act, were Aaron Stanton, David Miller and Joseph Rohrer. As appear from section eleven of said act, it was made the duty of the board of justices in each county to hold a meeting on the first Monday in May, 1831, "and lay their respective counties off into three equal commissioner's districts, numbered in numerical order, one, two and three ' ' ; and it was further provided in the same section that "one commissioner shall be elected in each of said districts, by a vote of the whole county. ' ' It seems, however, that no meeting of the board of justices, such as provided for in the act, was held; and the county was therefore not divided into commissioner's districts as contemplated by the legislature. Our first commissioners were consequently not chosen by districts, as required by the act ; and some doubt arose as to the legality of their election. To remedy this irregularity, the legislature passed the following legalizing statute, approved January 31, 1832 :«

"Whereas, It has been represented to this General Assembly, that there were three justices of the peace elected in the county of St. Joseph, to transact county business, two of whom shortly afterwards removed from said county, and thereby said board became vacant ; and that agreeably to an act, approved January 19th, 1831, regulating the mode of doing county business in the several counties in this state, there were three commissioners elected without regard to districting, who have since laid the same off in commissioner districts; Therefore,

"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That the election of said commissioners, and all proceedings relating thereto in St. Joseph county, and the proceedings of said board, so far as relates to laying off the same in districts, be, and the same are hereby legalized."

Sec. 1. - Organization of the Board. - The story of the development of our county during its formative period, the changes in the county boundaries, the location of the county seat, the erection of county buildings, the formation of the different townships, and many other matters connected with the organization of the new county, can be found nowhere so fully and satisfactorily detailed as in the records of the county board during the early years of our history. The chief part of the records of the board of justices has already b^en given. The first records of the board of county commissioners are of equal historical interest. These records open as follows :

"In pursuance of an act of the general avssembly of the state of Indiana, approved January the 19th, 1831, the board of commissioners met at the house of Alexis Coquillard in said county on the first Monday of September, A. D., 1831, at 12 o'clock on said day.

" 'State of Indiana, St. Joseph County, ss. I, L. M. Taylor, clerk of the St. Joseph circuit court, do hereby certify that David Miller has been elected county commissioner in said county and that he received the second highest number of votes of said county and that he is entitled to serve for the term of two years from the date hereof and until his successor is elected and qualified.

" 'In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the adopted seal of the St. Joseph Circuit Court, at South Bend, this fourth day of August, A. D., 1831. " 'L. M. Taylor, Clerk.' ' ' On the back of which certificate is the following endorsement, to-wit:

" 'State of Indiana, St. Joseph County, ss. Be it remembered that on the 5th day of September, A. D., 1831, personally appeared before me, the undersigned, an acting justice of the peace in and for said county, the within commissioned, David Miller, who being duly affirmed saith that he will support the constitution of the United States and also the constitution of the State of Indiana, and also faithfully and impartially execute the within office of county commissioner according to law and the best of his abilities and judgment, and that he will not, either directly or indirectly buy, receive or take any county order, allowance or claim against said county during his continuance in office for a less amount than that expressed on the face of such order or demand against said county.

Joseph Rohrer also appeared and qualified in like manner. Having received the third highest number of votes, he was, according to the provisions of section two of the act of January 19, 1831, declared to be a member of the board of commissioners for one year. Aaron Stanton, the third commissioner, who was elected for three years, did not appear and qualify until the third day of the term, Wednesday, September 7, 1831. That part of the oath of the county commissioners relating to county orders was in accordance with the provisions of section nineteen of the act, approved January 19, 1831, creating boards of county commissioners.

Sec. 2. - Adoption of a County Seal. - In the afteraoon of the first day's session a form of county seal was adopted by an order reading as follows :

[around the margin ], with the insignia of an eagle engraved on it [that is, on the face of the seal] ; which will more fully appear by an impression being made on the margin of this page. ' '

The impression of the seal, found on the margin of the page of the old record and referred to in the order, shows the words, "St. Joseph's County, Indiana," instead of "St. Joseph County, Indiana," as required by the order. The later form is the one now in use.

"The board of commissioners now proceed to select a list of grand jurors for the November term of the circuit court, and draw from the box the following names :

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That L. M. Taylor, clerk, be allowed out of the county treasury the sum of forty-eight dollare for blank books, a county seal and blank paper purchased by him for the use of said county.

' ' Ordered by the board aforesaid, That the sum of seventy-five cents be allowed out of the county treasury for each wolf scalp over six months old and thirty-seven and a half cents for each wolf scalp under six months

Sec . 4. - Exemptions From Taxation. - "Ordered by the board aforesaid, That the following persons be exempt from paying a poll tax, either for state or county purposes: John Clyburn, Samuel Johnson, John Martindale, sen., Basil Sperry - for the year 1831."

The reasons for this exemption are not given. According to section one of the revenue law then in force, approved February 10, 1831,^* a poll tax of thirty-seven and onehalf cents was to be assessed "on each male inhabitant between twenty-one and sixty years of age"; but the board was given "discretionary power to exempt any person over the age of fifty years from the payment of a poll tax, who is unable to pay the same, or on account of bodily disability. ' ' It is also provided in section two of the same act, "That all persons who have served in the land or naval service of the United States, during the revolutionary war, be and they are hereby exempt from the payment of a poll tax and a tax upon personal property. ' ' To secure this exemption the soldier was required to make affidavit before some justice of the county, "That he has served in the land or naval service of the United States during the revolutionary war, three months or upwards; for the taking of which affidavit, the justice shall not be entitled to receive any fee or compensation whatever." Similar favors were afterwards given to soldiers of the Mexican war, by acts approved January 14, 1847.''

Sec. 5. - The First Ferry and Steamboat Landing. - "Ordered by the board aforesaid, that a ferry be established at the east end of Water .street [now T^a Salle avenue 1, in the town of South Bend, over the St. Joseph river, °^ and that there be a tax assessed thereon to the amount of two dollars ; and that N. B. Griffith be licensed to keep the aforesaid ferry, and that the said Griffith be required to keep a good and sufficient flat, or boat, to conveyconveniently over said river two horses and a wagon at one time.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that the following be the rates of ferriage at the ferry established at the town of South Bend, towit : For each person, 6i/4 cents; for a man and horse, I214 cents; for one horse and a wagon or carriage, 25 cents ; for two horses and w^agon, 3I14 cents ; for each additional horse, with a wagon as above, 614 cents; for oxen in wagons the same rates as horses ; for loose cattle, three cents a head ; for hogs and sheep, two cents a head.

Sec. 6. - Licenses to do Business. - "Ordered by the board aforesaid, that five dollars shall be the amount to be assessed on each tavern license and retailer of spirituo\is or strong liquors, foreign and domestic groceries.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that there be assessed on each license to vend w^ooden clocks in said county the sum of eight dollars per annum.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that Peter Johnson be allowed a tavern license to keep a tavern at the town of South Bend by his payment into the county treasury of the sum of five dollars, to commence on the 1st of August, 1831.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that Benjamin Coquillard be licensed to keep a tavern at the town of South Bend by his paying into the county treasury the sum of five dollars.

' ' Ordered, that the American Fur company be licensed to vend foreign merchandise in said county one year from the date hereof by their paying into the county treasury the sum of ten dollars.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that George Sumption be allowed the sum of one dollar and fifty cents out of any money in the treasuiy not otherwise appropriated for two wolf scalp certificates.

"Ordered by the board, that Horatio Chapin be required to pay into the county treasury the sum of eleven dollars for a license to vend foreign goods in said county for one year from the date hereof.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that David Pickering, deputy sherifi^ of Allen county be allowed the sum of five dollars for notifying the commissioners to re-locate the seat of justice of St. Joseph county.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, that Lewis Shirley be allowed the sum of two dollars for services rendered in making a return of the annual election from Michigan township.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid. That John Drullinger be allowed the sum of one dollar for sei'vices rendered in making a return of the annual election from Deschemin township.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid. That each person of the grand and petit juries be allowed the sum of fifty cents for their services rendered in attending the November term of the St. Joseph circuit court; and the orders shall be issued by the clerk on satisfaction being made of their respective attendances."

The jurors, grand and petit, thus allowed fifty cents each for their services, on strict proof furnished of their actual attendance, were the second set of jurors that were selected in St. Joseph county. The jurors selected the previous year by the board of

Indeed it does not appear that the November term, 1831, of the St. Joseph Circuit court was ever held. The presiding judge failed to appear, although the jurors were selected and summoned. This neglect occasioned some complaint, as may be inferred from a communication from "One of the people" which appeared in the second number of the Northwestern Pioneer. The judge is there severely upbraided for neglect of duty, "notwithstanding he is paid a salary of seven himdred dollars a year for his services. "'^

Sec. 1. - St. Joseph, the First County Seat. - The board of justices, as we have seen, held their sessions at the house of Alexis Coquillard, in South Bend. The board of commissioners did likewise. The St. Joseph circuit court was also hoi den in the same hospitable mansion. '^ Indeed for several years after the organization of the county the seat of justice was actually at the house of Alexis Coquillard. Theoretically, however, the county seat was for a time on the farm of William Brookfield, in a town laid out by him at the portage of the St. Joseph. This town was called St. Joseph. Though named as the first county seat, it was never in fact more than a town on paper. The location of the county seat at St. Joseph was made by the commissioners appointed under section three of the act for the formation of St. Joseph and Elkhart counties. This action of the locating commissioners never gave satisfaction to the people of the county. A petition asking for the appointment of other commissioners to relocate the county seat was circulated amongst the settlers, received over one hundred and twenty-five signatures, and was laid before the legislature that convened at Indianapolis, December 6, 1830. That body, in an act approved February 1, 1831," granted the prayer of the petitioners, the act being as follows :

"Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Indiana, that Absalom Holcomb and William N. Hood of Allen county, John Scott of Cass county, Chester Sage and John Jackson of Elkhart county, are hereby appointed commissioners to review and should they judge expedient, to re-locate the county seat of St. Joseph county. The said commissioners shall convene at the house of William Brookfield, in the said county of St. Joseph, on the second Monday of May next, and shall immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by law.^ It is hereby made the duty of the sheriff of Allen county, to notify the said commissioners, either in person or by written notification, of their appointment, on or before the first day of May next ; and the said sheriff shall receive from the said county of St. Joseph, so much as the county commissioners of said county shall deem just and reasonable, who are hereby authorized to allow the same out of any monies in the county treasury, in the same manner as other monies are paid.

"Sec. 2. Should said commissioners after examination of the present seat of justice of said county, be of opinion that the public interest demands a removal or re-location of said seat of justice, they shall then proceed and be governed in all respects by the law forming said county of St. Joseph,*' as though they had been appointed to fix the said county seat, at the formation of said county.

"Sec. 3. That the county agent and all other officers within the said county, when the county seat is hereby located, shall be governed in all respects by the law forming said county, as though the county seat had been satisfactorily fixed by the first commissioners appointed for that purpose.

"Sec. 4. Should the commissioners hereby appointed, fix the county seat at any other place than that fixed by the former commissioners, then the said county commissioners shall deliver over to William Brookfield, and to all other persons who may have donated to said county, all monies, lands and other effects which they may have given to said county, as a consideration for said county seat. ' '

Sec. 3. - Re-Location. - The report of the commissioners so appointed by the legislature to re-locate the county seat of St. Joseph county appears of record in the proceedings of the third and last day's session of the first term of the board of county commissioners, Wednesday, September 7, 1831. The record is as follows :

"The commissioners" report which was filed in the clerk's office in vacation of said [county] board is now brougnt into court to be made a matter of record here, to- wit :

" 'The undersigned commissioners appointed by an act of the legislature of the state of Indiana, at their session in the year A. D. 1831, entitled an act to re-locate the county seat of St. Joseph county, met at the house of William Brookfield. in the said county of St. Joseph, on the second Monday of May, A. D. 1831 ; and after being duly sworn as the law directs, proceeded immediately to examine the present seat of justice for said county of St. Joseph, and are of opinion that public interest requires a removal of said seat of justice, and immediately proceeded to select a suitable site for the county seat of said county of St. Joseph ; and, after making all the examinations required by law, have selected the town of South Bend, as laid out and recorded on the records of said county, and have hereby established the same ; and have received from the persons hereinafter mentioned the following donations in lands, lots and obligations for the payment of the sums of money stipulated in the following bonds, to-wit : The bonds of Lathrop M. Taylor and Alexis Coquillard, guaranteed by Samuel Hanna, Joseph Rohrer, Samuel Studebaker and D. H. Coldrick for the conveyance to the use of the county, for the following distinguished lots in the town of South Bend : Lots Nos. 274. 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 400, 401, 402. 296, 299, 302, 344, 323 and 257. And also the lots specified in said bond to religious societies, school purposes and four acres of land described in said bonds for a public graveyard, in addition to the lots and ground set apart and marked on the plat of said town for a public square, religious and school purposes. And also the joint bond and obligation of the above mentioned Lathrop M. Taylor, Alexis Coquillard, Joseph Rohrer, Samuel Studebaker, Samuel Hanna and David Coldrick for the payment of three thousand dollars to the commissioners of said county, payable in the annual installments of one thousand dollars each. Which said several bonds and obligations are hereby particularly referred to and made a part of this report; all of which bear date herewith.

" 'In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands this twelfth day of May, A. D. 1831. " 'Absalom Holcomb, " 'William N. Hood, " 'Chester Sage, " 'John Jackson,

" 'Commissioners. " 'Know all men by these presents. That we Lathrop M. Taylor, Alexis Coquillard, Joseph Rohrer, Samuel Studebaker, Samuel Hanna and David Coldrick, do hereby bind and obligate ourselves and our heirs and representatives to well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto the commissioners of the county of St. Joseph, in the state of Indiana, or their successors in office, in the full and just sum of three thousand dollars, to be paid as follows: One thousand in one year from the signing and ensealing of this bond, and one thousand in two years and the residuary one thousand in three years; in consideration that the county seat of St. Joseph county, in the state aforesaid, shall be permanently located at the South Bend, in said county. ^

" ' In testimony whereof w i have hereunto set our hands and seals on this the twelfth day of May, in the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and thirty-one.

" 'Lathrop M. Taylor, (Seal.) " 'Alexis Coquillard, (Seal.) " 'Joseph Rohrer, (Seal.) " 'Samuel Studebaker, (Seal.) " 'Samuel Hanna, (Seal.) " 'D. H. Coldrick, (Seal.) " 'Attest: Horace Wood, Hiram Dayton. " 'Know all men by these presents. That we, Lathrop M. Taylor and Alexis Coquillard, do by these presents obligate ourselves and our representatives well and truly to convey and donate by an indisputable title to the county agent whom the commissioners shall appoint agent of the county of St. Joseph, in the state of Indiana, for the use of said county, fifteen in lots situated in the town of South Bend, and designated on the plat of said town by being numbered, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 400, 401. 402, 296, 299, 302, 344, 323 and 257 ; and to give and donate and convey in lot number 341 on said town plat to and for the use of a religious denominawon of people called the United Brethern, to build thereon a church for worship ; also in lot number four hundred and three on said town plat for the same purpose for the German Baptist congregation ; also in lot number two hundred and thirty-four on said town plat for a church for the denomination commonly called the Presbyterian ; also to give and donate for the use and convenience of said town four acres of land on the east half of the southwest quarter of section number twelve in town niunber thirty-seven of range number two east, to be dedicated and used as a public graveyard ; - all of which said several donations are to be legally conveyed in a reasonable time after the patents shall have issued to the said Coquillard and Taylor; in consideration that the county .seat shall be permanently located at South Bend, in said county.

' ' ' Witnessed our hands and seals on this twelfth day of May, 1831. " 'Lathrop M. Taylor, (Seal.) " 'Alexis Coquillard, (Seal.) " 'Attest: Horace Wood, Hiram Dayton. ' ' ' Know all men by these presents, That we, Samuel Hanna, Joseph Rohrer. Samuel Studebaker and David Coldrick, do bind and obligate ourselves and our representatives, under a penalty of two thousand dollars, to secure and guarantee the stipulations and obligations of the said Coquillard and Taylor in their above bond, according to the true spirit and equitable meaning thereof, waving all legal technicalities or inaccuracies, if any there be. " 'Witness our hands and seals on this twelfth day of May, 1831. " 'Samuel Hanna, (Seal.) " 'Joseph Rohrer, (Seal.) " 'Samuel Studebaker, (Seal.) " 'D. H. Coldrick, (Seal.) " 'Attest: Horace Wood, Hiram Dayton.' " Sec_ 4. - South Bend the Permanent County Seat. - Thus was the county seat definitely and permanently fixed at the new town near the south bend of the St. Joseph river, laid out March 28, 1831, by Alexis Cofiuillard and Lathrop Minor Taylor. The effort of William Brookfield, our first surveyor and one of the most distinguished of our early settlers, to build up a business center at the old portage was a natural but a mistaken one. It is true that commerce had gone by the St. Joseph-Kankakee portage for unknown ages. The ancient tradere went from the lakes up the St. Joseph, over the portage, down the Kankakee and the Mississippi, and so reached all the countries borderinjj on the gulf and the south seas; and that the return was by the same ancient route. But that day was past. Commerce had taken new lines. Detroit, Fort Wayne and Chicago had become gathering points ; and the trails and traces to and from these points, and from these points to the Atlantic coast, were gradually taking direction and form. North and south was the Michigan road. And the south bend of the St. Joseph river w^as on the new lines. The old routes became filled with dust and ^ leaves and overgrown with grass; while the new routes were worn and traveled and improved from year to year. Coquillard and Taylor had chosen wisely and labored effectively. The county seat was located in the proper place.

Not only was the 'first location of the county seat unsatisfactory to the people, but also the division of the county into the townships of Michigan, Deschemin, German and Portage, as made by the board of justices. Accordingly, on September 7, 1831, on the third day's session of the first term of the board of commissioners, after the entry of the record in relation to the county seat, the following important orders were made in relation to the townships of the county; and also in relation to commissioners' districts:

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That so much of the ordens of the board of justices held on the 25th day of November, 1830, as regards the laying off of townships in said county be hereby repealed and set aside.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid. That ranges two and three east of the second principal meridian of the state of Indiana, so much as lies in said county, shall form one township in said county, and shall be kno\\Ti by the name of Portage township. All elections in said township shall be held in the town of South Bend. Said township shall form the first county commissioner district in said county.

west of the second principal meridian of the state of Indiana shall form a township in said county, to be known by the name of Center township, and all elections in said township shall be held at John Drulinger's. Said township shall form the second county commissioner district in said county.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That all the territory lying west of the range line dividing ranges number one and number two west of the second principal meridian of the state of Indiana shall fonn and constitute a township, to be known by the name of Highland township, and the elections in said township shall be held at the house of Jacob Miller, in said township. The said township shall form the third county commissioner district in said county.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That Hiram Dayton be appointed Inspector of Elections in Portage, and John Egbert shall be appointed Inspector of Elections in Center township, and also that Chapel W. Brown be appointed Inspector of Elections in Highland township.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That on the fourth Saturday of Inst, the qualified electors in Portage township be authorized to elect one justice of the peace at South Bend, in said township ; and that the qualified electors of Center township be authorized to elect one justice of the peace in said township on the fourth Saturday as aforesaid ; and also that the qualified electors of Highland township be authorized to elect one justice of the peace in said township on the fourth Saturday, Inst.

"Ordered by the board aforesaid, That the sheriff be required to notify the qualified electors of said county to meet in the several townships as organized by this board to meet at the several places in said townships, to elect associate judges.""

It will be seen that Highland township, as laid out by the board of commissioners, ina. The organization of our courts will be given in another place.

eluded one more range than did Michigan township, as laid out by the board of justices. The east line of Michigan township was "the range line dividing ranges two and three west;" while the east line of Highland township was ' ' the range line dividing ranges number one and number two west." No part of either of those primitive townships was within the present limits of St. Joseph county. Highland township included the greater part of what is now La Porte county and all of Porter and Lake.

Center township, as laid out by the board of commissioners, included the w^est half of range one west, now in Laporte county, and likewise so much of the east half of said range as is also in said county. The rest of old Center township, being the remainder of range one west and all of range one east, - except parts on the south afterwards attached to Marshall and Starke counties - are still in St. Joseph county. The east line of Center township was the range line between ranges one and two east, being the line which now divides our present Warren township from German and Portage. The townships of Olive, Warren and Lincoln, as now constituted, with the greater part of Greene and almost all of Liberty, were then in Center township.

Portage township, as laid out by the board of commissioners, took in all of the county embraced in ranges two and three east. That included the present townships of German, Clay, Portage, Center and Union, with parts of Greene, Liberty, Harris, Penn and Madison. The west half of range four, being a strip three miles in width on the east side of the county as at present constituted, was then in Elkhart county.

St. Joseph county, as formed by the act of January 29, 1830, extended east and west across five ranges of congressional townships, and reached south from the Michigan line a distance of thirty miles. To this thirty miles square was added, for jurisdictional purposes, all the territory west to the Illinois state line. Other unorganized territory was afterwards attached for like purposes on the south. This attached territory, as we have seen," was by the board of justices erected into a township of St. Joseph county, and named Michigan township. The board of commissioners added to Michigan a range of congressional townships on the east, and called the whole territory Highland township.

Not counting the attached territory on the west, St. Joseph county proper then included nearly one-half of the present county of La Porte, and also nearly one-half of the present counties of Marshall and Starke. The act of February 10, 1831, defining the boundaries of all the counties of the state,'* left unchanged the boundaries of St. Joseph county as fixed by the act of its organization, January 29, 1830.

The county of La Porte was formed by an act of the legislature, approved January 9, 1832. In this act the east boundary of La Porte is declared to be, "the center line of range number one west," extending south twenty-two miles from the north boundary line of the state.'' Thus, not counting the attached territory west to the Illinois line, which had constituted our Michigan township, and nearly all of our Highland txDwnship, the legislature, in one act, took from St. Joseph county a range and a half of congressional townships on the west, and made them part of the new county of La Porte.

As if to make up for this loss on the west, the same legislature, a few days afterwards, by an act approved January 31, 1832,** took three miles from P^lkhart and added it to St. Joseph. The act is short, and reads as follows : the state of Indiana, That the boundary line between the counties of Elkhart and St. Joseph, be, and the same is hereby changed, and that the same shall be a north and south line, three miles east, and parallel with range line number three east of the second principal meridian line. And all that portion of territory so stricken off of Elkhart county, be, and the same is hereby attached to, and shall constitute a part of St. Joseph county. ' '

The net result of both those acts of the legislature of 1831 was to move St. Joseph county three miles to the east, giving us half a range on the east and taking from us a range and a half on the west, and so reducing the width of the county along the north boundary line of the state from thirty miles to twenty-four miles. This left us a half range west of the second principal meridian and three and a half ranges east of the same meridian.

The next act of the legislature that interfered with the boundaries of the county was that approved February 7, 1835,^ entitled "An act laying out all the unorganized territory to which the Indian title has been extinguished in this state, into a suitable number of counties, and for other purposes."

Section nine of that act defined the north line of jMarshall county as the north line of congressional township thirty-four, being the same as the south line of our present township of Lincoln extended east. This boundary, while taking seven miles and a half off the south end of St. Joseph county, still left us the whole of congressional township thirtyfive, including the sites of the present towns of Bremen, La Paz and Teegarden, besides the right of way of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad from the eastern to the western boundary of the coimty.

By section ten of the same act, the north line of Starke county was defined to be the north line of the same congrassional township, thirty-four. This boundary left the territory

Although the boundaries of Marshall county were fixed by the act of February 7, 1835, yet the county was not organized until the succeeding session of the legislature. The act passed for that purpose was approved February 4, 1836.'* The eighth section of that act appears to have no proper connection with the other sections : it seems to be attached to the act rather than to be a part of it. The section, however, did seriously affect the interests of St. Joseph county. It reads as follows :

"Sec. 8. The northern boundary line ot the county of Marshall shall be extended to an east and west line running through the center of township thirty -five north."

A strip three miles in width was thus taken from St. Joseph county and added to Marshall county, leaving a part of Lincoln township in St. Joseph county projecting between ]Marshall and La Porte counties, to a distance of three - miles south of the remainder of St. Joseph county.

In an act approved February 16, 1839, entitled "An act to define the boundaries of the counties of St. Joseph, ^Marshall, La Porte, Starke, Porter and Lake, "^ the boundaries of St. Joseph county were left as they had remained after the act of February 4, 1836, defining the north boundary of Marshall county. This act of February 16, 1839, defined what were expected to be the fixed and permanent boundaries of the county, in these words:

"St. Joseph county shall be bounded as follows, by a line commencing on the north boundary of this state at the intersection thereon of the section line running north and south through the center of range four east: thence south to the center of township thirtyfive north ; thence west to the second meridian , line, being that line between ranges one east and one west; thence south to the township line between townships thirty-four and thirty - five north; thence west to the section line running north and south through the center of range one west; thence north by said section line to the north boundary of this state; thence east to the place of beginning."

St. Joseph county seemed at last to have found herself, to have reached the definite and fixed limits of her physical entity. For ten years her integrity as a county was respected, and no further attempt was made to interfere with her defined boundaries. But by an act approved January 16, 1849,^ the legislature provided:

"That the territory which now belongs to St. Joseph county, described as follows: Beginning at the present county line, at the northwest corner of section twenty-two, township thirty-seven north, range one west; thence with the north line of said section, and that of section twenty-three, to the northeast corner of said section twenty-three; thence south with the section line, until it shall strike the great Kankakee river; thence with said river to the present county line, may be attached to the county of La Porte, upon the conditions following. ' '

One of the conditions upon which the transfer of territory should take place is set out in section four of the act, in which it was provided that, "The county commissioners of said county of St. Joseph, shall, and they are hereby authorized to, decide at their regular June term, 1849, w^hether said territory shall be attached as aforesaid. ' ' Should our board of commissioners agree to the change it should take place. "But," it was further provided in the same section, "in case said board of county commissioners do not decide in favor of attaching the territory as aforesaid, to the said county of La Porte, then and in that case the said territory shall be and remain a part and parcel of said county of St. Joseph. ' ' of county commissioners accordingly refused to concur in the action of the legislature. At the regular June term, 1849,« of the board it was therefore formally ordered, ' ' That said territory shall not be set off as a part of the territory of La Porte county."

The people of the disputed territory were, however, bent on having the sections transferred to La Porte county. It must be admitted that their reasons in favor of the project were plausible. The territory in question was situated on the west side of the Kankakee river; and it was then impossible to go directly across the river and marshes to the county seat of St. Joseph county. It was the old trouble, over again, of the first survey of the Michigan road from Michigan City, directly across the Kankakee swamps, to Logansport. Such roads were impossible of construction in those days. The people to the west of the Kankakee quite naturally, therefore, preferred to go to the county seat of La Porte county, both for their marketing and also to attend to such business as must be transacted in the court house.

The matter came again before the legislature at the ensuing session ; and, by an act approved January 14, 1850,^ the transfer of the territory was made absolute, without any consent asked for or given by St. Joseph county. A touch of patriotic sentiment was given to the severance of the territory, by providing in the act that the sections in question should be attached to and become a part of La Porte county from and after July 4, 1850.

So was St. Joseph county reduced in size from its original thirty miles square, and attached territory, to its present dimensions. Some slight movements were afterwards made to limit still further the size of the county. Citizens on the east side of the county at one time tried to persuade the commissioners that they should be attached to Elkhart county; and citizens of the west side of the county filed like petitions, with a view to the formation of another county made up in part of St. Joseph and in part of La Porte territory, and having New Carlisle as a county seat. These petitions were before our county board for several sessions, each, but were all finally dismissed. Another movement developed at one time in the southwest part of the county, with a view to the formation of a county out of parts of St. Joseph, Marshall, Starke and La Porte counties, and having Walkerton as the county seat. There was more reason for this movement than for either of the others, the southwest part of this county not being of easy access to the county seat. But afterwards came improved gravel roads, not to speak of the Three ''I" railroad; and North Liberty and Walkerton at once found themselves in easy reach of the city on the St. Joseph, and more closely knit to the county of which they form so important a part. Every inhabitant has long since become proud of his citizenship in the good old county of St. Joseph.

The county is now twenty-four miles in length, east and west, measured along the boundary between Indiana and Michigan; and nineteen and one-half miles in width, north and south, measured along the boundary between St. Joseph and Elkhart counties. To these dimensions are to be added the nine sections of Lincoln township, bounded on the east by Marshall county, on the south by Starke and on the west by La Porte. And from these dimensions must be deducted the fourteen full and five fractional sections attached to La Porte county by the act of January 14, 1850.

Notwithstanding the loss of territory on the west and on the south, our county is still one of the largest, as it is one of the best, in the state. The limits of the county are, on all sides, within congressional townships thirtyfive, thirty-six, thirty-seven and thirty-eight, north ; and Avithin ranges one, west, and one, two, three and four, east, of the second principal meridian of Indiana. It is the central county on the north boundary of the state. The county contains within its borders the source and a large part of the valley of the Kankakee. We have no less than five prairies of various sizes, one of them, Terre Coupee, the finest in the state ; while, with Elkhart county, we claim as ours the whole of the St. Joseph valley within the state of Indiana.